Thursday fulham Stuff - 24/12/20...

[WhiteJC]

Pre-Southampton Press Conference

Scott Parker covered a range of topics in his pre-Southampton press conference on Thursday afternoon.

Self-isolation...

"I'm feeling well but a member of my household tested positive for Covid and obviously due to the government guidelines I've had to self-isolate. There's no denying that it's disappointing but my family member's fine and is on the mend.

"We have a Premier League game on Saturday which I'm not going to be able to take part in, or this week's training leading into it.

"We're doing all we can, we've got everything set up, I'm in constant dialogue with my staff, I've got an unbelievable team around me. You'd probably expect me to say that but it's the truth. They've been working with me for a long time so I know the players are in good hands.

"I'll do all I can from home. I'll be in constant dialogue, I'll have a feed going into the dugout. I'll have my laptop and screens with a lot of angles of the game, so I'll be in constant dialogue with how I see things.

"Is that going to be as good as being live and being around it? Of course not, but that's the predicament I'm in at this present moment in time. But I've got great staff and great coaches here who will take the reins more personally there, but also I can still have a big influence."

Joachim Andersen's rescinded red card...

"It's really important for us. Joachim's been fantastic since he's come in and I'm really glad that the authorities have understood that a clear mistake had been made there, and they chose to rescind the red card, and rightly so.

"It's vitally important that Joachim is back in, he's done remarkably well for us and is pivotal to what we're trying to do.

"At the time of the incident I was bitterly disappointed. I said after the game that what's puzzling is that we brought VAR into the game to make the right and correct decisions.

"I understand in real time why Graham Scott gave the penalty, and even now looking back at what he was shown on the monitor was not conclusive to give him enough evidence, so I definitely think there's some real issues here with the process of VAR.

"We need to work out what the most important thing is that we're getting out of VAR, and for me that's getting decisions right. If that means that it takes five minutes, then it takes five minutes. If it means that we have to slow this down and show numerous angles because it's contentious, we have to do that.

"What you can't have is what happened to us at the weekend, because that's cost us two points, and for us two points is valuable and massive."

Fulham's form...

"I think the way the team's moving and progressing is very positive, you've seen that over the last six, seven, eight performances.

"I feel like it's a squad that is going in the right direction and improving in what is a very difficult league. We're coming into a festive period with a lot of football matches and we need to maintain where we've been the last few weeks."

Southampton's progress since losing 9-0 to Leicester City last year...

"I'm one to think that it probably wasn't as bad as 9-0, I'm sure they were a work in progress, and what you see now from Southampton is a process of time and a process of work.

"Fair play to Southampton when the pressure was coming, because on the end of a 9-0 they knew they had the right guy, and with work and time you get to the other side of it.

"Massive credit to Ralph Hasenhüttl because he's done a fantastic job there, got a team together that are very competitive and will do remarkably well this year, no doubt.

"They're a very, very good team that's done remarkably well. They're a high pressure team with a lot of quality in their side, so it will be a tough game for us at the weekend but one we'll go into trying to get a result."



https://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2020/december/Pre-Southampton-Press-Conference/

[WhiteJC]

Fulham vs Southampton preview, team news, kick-off, prediction

Fulham could be without Ivan Cavaleiro; Southampton will be missing the suspended Oriol Romeu; watch Fulham vs Southampton on Sky Sports Premier League and Main Event from 2.30pm on Saturday; kick-off 3pm


Watch Fulham vs Southampton live on Sky Sports Premier League

Team news and stats ahead of Fulham vs Southampton in the Premier League on Saturday, live on Sky Sports; kick-off 3pm.

Team news

Fulham could be without Ivan Cavaleiro for their Boxing Day clash with Southampton, with manager Scott Parker also absent from the dugout.

The forward pulled up in the warm-up before the Newcastle game and remains a doubt for the fixture while the manager is self-isolating after a member of his household returned a positive Covid-19 test.

Kenny Tete will be unlikely to feature after his wife gave birth while Terence Kongolo suffered a minor setback and is likely to be out for a further 10 days before being able to return to training. Mario Lemina is also ineligible to face his parent club but Joachim Andersen will be available after his red card against Newcastle was overturned.

Southampton have several selection concerns ahead of the trip to Craven Cottage, where they will be missing Oriol Romeu through suspension.

Striker Danny Ings (hamstring) and defender Jannik Vestergaard (knee) are doubts, along with winger Nathan Redmond, who is struggling with a hip problem.

Ghanaian centre-back Mohammed Salisu could be set to step in for a belated debut following a summer switch from Real Valladolid, having again been an unused substitute for the defeat by Manchester City.

How to follow
Fulham vs Southampton will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Premier League and Main Event from 2.30pm on Saturday; kick-off at 3pm. Sky Sports customers can watch in-game clips in the live match blog on the Sky Sports website and app. Free highlights will also be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel shortly after the final whistle.


Watch the Premier League live on Sky Sports

At least 146 Premier League games will be shown live on Sky Sports in the 2020/21 season. The Premier League has further increased the number of televised games this season from 200 to 231, with over half of the extra fixtures set to be shown live on Sky Sports.

Overall, Sky Sports will be showing at least 146 Premier League matches live throughout the 2020/21 season, continuing to bring you all the latest twists, turns and shocks at the home of the Premier League. There will also be two additional midweek programmes - one will be played across the weeks commencing January 11 and 18 and the second will be in the week commencing May 10. All of these games will be broadcast live.

You can also follow the action with our dedicated live blogs on the Sky Sports website and app, and watch free match highlights from every game shortly after full-time on our digital platforms and YouTube channel.

Jones Knows Prediction

Southampton have lost only one of their last 12 Premier League away games, at Crystal Palace on the opening day.

But they are unbackable at Fulham.

Ralph Hasenhuttl has established exceptional chemistry in key areas of his side with Oriol Romeu and James Ward-Prowse relentless in midfield and Jan Bednarek and Jannik Vestergaard an exceptional pairing at centre-back. However, the influential Romeu is suspended for this one with Ibrahima Diallo set for his first start and Vestergaard is a doubt, as is Danny Ings.

Hasenhuttl's squad depth will be stretched over the coming weeks and this looks a great opportunity for Fulham to turn some encouraging performances, at Newcastle especially, into a win.

JONES KNOWS PREDICTS: 2-1 (11/1 with Sky Bet)

Opta stats
    Fulham have lost just one of their seven Premier League home games against Southampton (W4 D2), winning 3-2 in their last such meeting in November 2018.
    Southampton have won three of their last four Premier League meetings with Fulham (L1), keeping a clean sheet in each victory. Saints had won just one of their first 10 games against Fulham in the competition (D6 L3), conceding in nine of those 10 matches.
    Fulham haven't won a home league game on Boxing Day since 2003, drawing three and losing one of their four such games since. However, their last victory at home on 26th December was in a Premier League match against Southampton (2-0).
    Southampton have won six of their last eight league games on Boxing Day (D1 L1), with their only defeat in that run coming at Tottenham in 2017 (2-5).
    Fulham have drawn each of their last three Premier League games, as many draws as they'd had in their previous 34 top-flight games (W7 D3 L24).
    Southampton lost their first two Premier League games against newly promoted teams under Ralph Hasenhüttl but have since won each of their last nine in a row. Saints have never won 10 in a row in the top-flight against newly promoted teams, also winning nine in a row between October 1979 and January 1981.



https://www.skysports.com/football/fulham-vs-soton/preview/428979

[hovewhite]

We have replaced Mawson with Kongolo, a sicknote for a bigger sicknote at centre back, is that Fulhamish.

That makes me chuckle ho ho ho, but it's spot on.

[Jims Dentist]

We have replaced Mawson with Kongolo, a sicknote for a bigger sicknote at centre back, is that Fulhamish.

That makes me chuckle ho ho ho, but it's spot on.

Yes, but if the Kongolo situation continues, someone should be accountable.